Final Fantasy XIII is an RPG with incredibly deep and fun battle mechanics, beautiful 4K graphics and a wonderful soundtrack. The story is a bit too complicated, but it makes sense if you read the files. There are some difficulty spikes and very hard bosses to test your patience if you don't level up enough. I didn't, but I had fun getting through with constant radical paradigms swops. One thing I had read and that is not true is that it's a completely linear game. It has the alternative routes with chests and different enemies of many Final Fantasy games and also some more open areas with optional objectives. Actually, I appreciated this tight balance, because exploring isn't that fun as fighting in most games. That was when I remembered Xenoblade Chronicles, an overrated game that has huge and empty areas, hollow side quest and a very long story. That is one of the most boring RPGs I've played. Even combat is a mess. That's exactly where Final Fantasy XIII really shines, the combat.
@SingleStooge Halo Infinite had a very long development that started for Xbox One. In spite of the huge budget, they needed external assistance to improve the campaign. However, it's far to say that 343 Industries has improved massively just comparing 5 and Infinite, so I'm sure that their next game won't be as troubled. They probably should start working on Unreal Engine 5, though, because the old engine and the cross-platform development also hurt it.
Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox One X/Series X version)
Final Fantasy XIII is an RPG with incredibly deep and fun battle mechanics, beautiful 4K graphics and a wonderful soundtrack. The story is a bit too complicated, but it makes sense if you read the files. There are some difficulty spikes and very hard bosses to test your patience if you don't level up enough. I didn't, but I had fun getting through with constant radical paradigms swops. One thing I had read and that is not true is that it's a completely linear game. It has the alternative routes with chests and different enemies of many Final Fantasy games and also some more open areas with optional objectives. Actually, I appreciated this tight balance, because exploring isn't that fun as fighting in most games. That was when I remembered Xenoblade Chronicles, an overrated game that has huge and empty areas, hollow side quest and a very long story. That is one of the most boring RPGs I've played. Even combat is a mess. That's exactly where Final Fantasy XIII really shines, the combat.
@SingleStooge Halo Infinite had a very long development that started for Xbox One. In spite of the huge budget, they needed external assistance to improve the campaign. However, it's far to say that 343 Industries has improved massively just comparing 5 and Infinite, so I'm sure that their next game won't be as troubled. They probably should start working on Unreal Engine 5, though, because the old engine and the cross-platform development also hurt it.
Dam I had this shelved since forever. Need to dust off my Xbox and leave my steam deck just for emulation or games not on Xbox.
I've been clearing some Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy games! I was Nintendo-only until Wii U. By the way, the best version of Ocarina of Time I've played is the PC native version that was ported to Wii U. I hope that they port Majora's Mask to Wii U, but I haven't heard anything. I have a Switch but not hacked.
Hellblade Sauna Sacrifice - A Cool game to play and look at. Highly recommend it.
Right so I recently had the good fortune to play and yeah beat Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice finally! I say finally because it takes a long time to try out, but yeah I am more than happy that I did. To state that that the game was something special would likely be an understatement.. I don't want to spoil too much about the game but yeah it was a very interesting experience to state the least and one which I think is very much worth trying out if you have the courage. You will likely not be disappointed. Not least did I enjoyed the graphics in the game which I thought looked very nice.
*Hm its cool that there now seems to be a few of us that have played and beaten Hellblade. Wounder many how have who have played and beaten the sequel heheh .
I just finished the game maybe an hour ago after I started it nearly two weeks ago. I kept hearing the game being cited as one of the best video games of all time and a classic, but out of all of Rare’s IPs, it was one that I had the least interest in since it wasn’t a platformer. I had tried to play it back in December, but I didn’t make it past the first level since I found it confusing and uninteresting at first. After Microsoft gave a recent update on the upcoming reboot of the game with a gameplay trailer, it actually interested me, so I thought I would give the original game another go to sort of build excitement for it.
The shooting gameplay was really fun and easy, and luckily one that I was already familiar with thanks to having played other shooter games in the past like Overwatch. The different weapon types were fun to use and the gunplay wasn’t clunky and pretty good for a remaster of an older game. Since I was new to the game and needed to get used to it, I used aim assist and played on Agent (the easiest mode in the game), though the difficulty with the enemies still racked up nearing the end regardless, so I had to make sure I retained enough health over time, which still made it somewhat challenging for me. The enemies weren’t too hard or easy later in the game, and they actually took significant chunks of my health too!
The gameplay also involves gadgets that need to be utilized to complete specific objectives, which was something very unique to me since other first person shooters focus on being fast paced and don’t require you to stop for a little to do something in order to win, and I would say that the gadgetry blends fairly well with the gunplay.
I also loved the theme and aesthetic of the game too, and its plotline was really interesting. Not deep and I didn’t really connect with the characters or know them much, but it was cool to me, and I don’t really care if any game has a strong narrative or not. It first starts off as your typical spy thriller with a futuristic setting, but then extraterrestrial life get involved and the game basically becomes somewhat of a buddy cop game (but with spies), with your partner being an alien you saved from being dissected at a lab in Area 51, and your goal changes from exposing a conspiracy by a rival company to sending an opposing alien race with the ability to disguise themselves as humans into a state of disarray by slaying their leader. The entire plot just screams Rare with how it starts off normally and gets unbelievably crazy and amazing as time goes on and I love it!
However, the only problems I had with the game pertain to some level layouts and aiming. The way the levels are designed are fairly simple and easy at first, but get more bigger and confusing the more the game nears its end, and there were multiple times where I had no direction and went around in circles. There are objectives that tell you what to do and those did help during early parts of the game, but they sometimes don’t delve into specifics and are not entirely helpful, which made me need to rely on a playthrough for the game’s final levels. Sometimes you aren’t told what to do either, which is a small issue I had with a couple of Rare’s other games like Conker’s Bad Fur Day, specifically in a nightclub level. The final level in Perfect Dark ticked me off the most, mostly with this part where you had to throw gadgets at these pillars, since in each playthrough, the correct pillars generate differently and you fail the mission if you use the gadget on the wrong pillar, so I had to read a YouTube comment and discovered that I had to use a tool to tell which pillars were incorrect, which the game I believe never informed me about, and everyone else who played this game seems to collectively agree that the final level dropped the ball with its layout and design. I can also recall this part at the start of another level where you can retrieve a rocket launcher from a helipad, but the helipad has this hidden explosive(?) that swiftly kills you when you walk across it, so you have to throw grenades at it; however, I only found out how to do this part correctly from a video online since the game never gave directions or any type of hint for what to do at the helipad. Given that it is an remaster of a old game now from 24 years ago, the level design being this way isn’t too surprising, but can be somewhat infuriating when playing the game nowadays.
The aiming is also somewhat off when you try to aim closer. When I was at the final boss, I tried to aim and shoot closer at a pillar thing (which is crucial to defeating the boss) but the gun reticle sometimes went off center or shot at the enemy instead. This one is more minor, but it’s difficult to get precise aiming in this game.
Anyway, I would say that I had a really positive experience with the game despite having issues with its layout, and I am so happy I did not give up on it. It was a pretty good shooter, and I really cannot wait for the reboot, which I hope does the original justice and improves upon it. Now I gotta decide what Rare game I’m going to play next… I’m stuck between Perfect Dark Zero and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts.
@Yousef- I was pretty happy when I finished Perfect Dark and I’m so glad I gave it another try instead of giving up on it. I think I just needed to get used to it over time.
I heard Zero was ok, but I’ll still be giving it a shot at some point! Though I do not know if I will start it later today or not, since I might want to go back to Nuts and Bolts and finish it possibly next month since I actually made some progress on it the last time I played it and it’s the only Banjo game I haven’t completed, plus I stink at it and want to master it so I have a better time with it.
@oliverp I beat both Hellblade games recently and I posted here my opinion. Like you, I think that the first one is something really special in spite of a few rough edges, but don't hesitate to play the second game as well for a very impressive experience!
@Patellioli As you probably know, the difficulty levels in both Perfect Dark games and Goldeneye 007 change the damage you receive, the health of enemies and the amount of ammunition and health shields, but also the number of objectives. I beat the three difficulty levels, but I know some missions are very hard and there aren't checkpoints, so I'm glad that you could beat the game in Agent mode and enjoy the story that you described perfectly!
The lack of maps was a big problem for me. It was not in Goldeneye 007 because the levels are more realistic and smaller, but the bigger and uniform stages are confusing in the first Perfect Dark. By the way, I also liked the sequel, unlike others. As you said, the layout and level design is crazy in the last part. Everything you say in this regard is true, but the game is worth playing. Kudos on not giving up!
It's been a while since I played Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts and other Rare Replay games. I beat everything in Banjo-Kazooie but the included DLC that consist of additional, more difficult challenges. To win the different challenges that you will find in this big game, it's all about upgrading Banjo at the gym as soon as possible, collecting all or as many items as possible everywhere you go and build vehicles or use blueprints that then you modify in order to beat the challenges, e.g., more power, more fuel, reduce weight, add weapons, etc. The possibilities are almost endless as you progress and you need to make choices. I had much more fun building vehicles and controlling them than the half-baked and boring The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom mechanics. Nuts and Bolts is not a platforming game and it sucks as such, even more before upgrading Banjo, but when you realise it's not a platformer and you need vehicles and can go anywhere and do anything, it's a lot of fun. However, I think that you should play Perfect Dark Zero that is also on your play list, now that you're used to the first one. In gameplay terms and level design, it's quite the improvement.
@Banjo- I tried to do the final level in Perfect Dark initially without a playthrough and I just got so angry and was even considering dropping it, since all of the videos I used afterward didn’t use the tool that tells the player where to put the gadgets on the pillars. I only found out what I was doing wrong thanks to a YouTube comment, as I thought that first that pillars I used were initially correct but I didn’t put them on the right way, so it led to me restarting the level a ton. I think the final level is better if you do know what you are doing and if you use the tool, but it still was one I wasn’t a fan of. The layouts and lack of maps are something I just really dislike about the game and were my only main issue with PD aside from the somewhat off aiming, though the earlier levels alongside the level midway through the game where the main institute gets attacked were the easiest since the areas are smaller, and I’d say the institute was my favorite level from how cool it was, though the enemies definitely took a ton of my health if I wasn’t careful or aware of my surroundings.
If I recall, I did actually get all the improvements for Banjo in Nuts and Bolts, but I need to get more items and blueprints for the vehicles, since there was this challenge in Banjoland I attempted maybe an hour or two ago where I have to protect Clanker’s eyes, and although I do have some weapons that are helpful (like the grenade gun) it’s hard to hit the enemies since I don’t have a weapon that helps me aim directly at them with a reticle. I don’t know where to get the specific weapon, so I’ll have to try using a playthrough to find some of the weapon parts. I am considering doing the challenge without a vehicle, but I think it’ll leave me more frustrated and waste a ton of time so I’ll try to persevere, but I don’t think I’ll try to 100% the game compared to the previous ones. Also, I think I got that orb thing (the name escapes me) that I need to use to unlock a world near the docks, but it got stuck on this magnetic vehicle thingy that I’m assuming I have to move somehow to unlock the world, and I think that part made me drop the game last year. However, before I made an account on this site, I did come across some of your comments in a few comment sections and threads and I recall you saying Nuts and Bolts is more fun and less upsetting if you treat it as more of a sandbox game and less as a platformer, so maybe I should do that to get more enjoyment out of it. I’m hoping I get the hang of the game soon, but I only just started playing it again.
@Pastellioli I can't remember now how I beat those parts in Nuts and Bolts, but you can visit different worlds and chapters as you progress. You really need time to explore the game, so don't play it when you're not in the mood. I loved it but only once I was able to build more powerful vehicles and had access to more areas of the hub world. Also, drive in circles in the centre of the hub world and shoot Gruntilda when you need to release stress 🤣. It also helps to learn the controls of the trolley, that can also be upgraded to jump considerably high.
EDIT: Yeah, definitely take it as a sandbox game and not something you need to beat quickly nor a platformer.
@Banjo- I’ll probably have to find a guide or playthrough to solve the orb being stuck on that magnetic thingy, but I’ll attempt it later and hopefully I can make more progress in the game since that was the part I got stuck on. I’ll try to look around the worlds more for parts that can help me complete the game. I’m just really happy I’m completing more games now and not giving up on ones that I initially tried playing, like how I dropped Perfect Dark when I played it back in December because I thought it was confusing.
“Woah-shi! It’s a double Yoshi explo-shi!” - Yoshi’s Woolly World ad, 2015
If you’re curious, the character in my PFP is Flaky from Happy Tree Friends.
@Pastellioli I have always felt clueless without maps and bad at memorising a level layout, but I think that's one thing I've improved as I grew older, but relying more on visual memory. It's funny how different brains can be and how I managed to make up for my weakest skills. I hate dungeons crawlers and confusing Metroid-like games.
When you get through games that reward you, it makes you feel good. Once it clicks, you enjoy more the controls and mechanics and celebrate your accomplishment because of the difficulties you have overcome. I have given few games up. Lately, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, because I was not enjoying it and I felt that the game was not focused but trying to do everything while not being really entertaining nor rewarding, but I liked and beat the first entry.
I stopped playing Sonic Heroes because there is a level in the jungle where the camera changes, you can't stop, controls are fidgety and you don't know where and how you are supposed to go. I decided to stop playing it because every time I reached that part I died and I knew there would be more infuriating sections with bad camera and controls that wouldn't depend on my skills as a player. Another game I gave up was Sonic Advance 2, because of the awfully punishing level design, but one night about a month ago, I beat Sky Canyon with Cream after many tries memorising the level and then I beat it with the rest of the characters and then the whole game. It's the Sonic 2D game that I would recommend the least, but I enjoyed being able to beat it.
@Banjo- There’s this rhythm game on my phone that I’ve played for nearly two years and it’s also giving me the same feeling right now lol. It’s fun when you time your taps to the music correctly and get full combos but stinks when you can’t do any of that, but it just takes time to get used to it. Even though I can’t play the game the best anymore, I can at least play better than how I used to when I first started it. Conker’s Bad Fur Day made me feel the exact same way three times during parts of the game when I tried it for the first time in September and I was so close to dropping it, but I am so glad I didn’t and kept trying. It was so rewarding surviving the one-hit kill blades, winning the badly-designed and janky lava race and the entire War chapter. Diddy Kong Racing also did something similar since I couldn’t beat the first boss thanks to how bad the emulator’s controls were, but guess what? I actually won the boss race a few days ago!
Also, on an unrelated note, I just started Perfect Dark Zero a few hours ago and it’s pretty good so far even though I haven’t made a lot of progress on it. It improves on a lot of the issues I had with the first game, and the cover mechanic is actually REALLY helpful. I did change the control style since the original PD control scheme the game had on was weird and made it almost unplayable for me. The game is a bit cheesy but it’s the good type of cheesy; the way the antagonist escapes during the ending cutscene for mission 1 made me burst out laughing.
@Pastellioli Conker's Bad Fur Day has some tricky sections, indeed. I still have to play the Xbox version. I'm busy with Final Fantasy XIII-2 and then I need to play Octopath Traveller II on Game Pass since I'm always subscribed and I loved the first one. Then, there is Final Fantasy XIII Lighting Returns. So many games to play, new and old!
I'm glad that you decided to play Perfect Dark Zero after Perfect Dark and that you're liking it so far. When I was kid, I was not able to beat Diddy Kong Racing, but I did some time later, when I read something I have posted many times since. You need to release the accelerator button just before a boost to enhance it. This is the only way that Wizpig can be beaten, at least as Conker.
@Banjo- You do seem to have a lot of video games on your plate! Hope you have fun. I sort of do too with both Nuts and Bolts and Perfect Dark Zero! Let’s hope that my playthroughs of them go well. I am using Conker in my playthrough of Diddy Kong Racing, though mostly because of how much of a fan I am of Bad Fur Day and cause of how cute he is in DKR.
And when you say Xbox version of Conker, are you referring to the port of the original in Rare Replay or the remake? Just curious.
“Woah-shi! It’s a double Yoshi explo-shi!” - Yoshi’s Woolly World ad, 2015
If you’re curious, the character in my PFP is Flaky from Happy Tree Friends.
@Pastellioli I was missing one, but now I have all the achievements of the Rare Replay version 🙌. The Xbox remake, Conker Live & Reloaded, is the one I haven't played yet. I have so many games to play because I got my first Xbox (Xbox One) when Rare Replay was released, so I have a lot of Xbox 360 games I want to play on top of everything else. I had (and still have) a PS4 before the Xbox One where I played all the Kingdom Hearts games (almost 100%, exhausting and pointless) except III that I played on Xbox (Game Pass).
In the last years, I have been playing all the Kingdom Hearts (including the two DS games), all the Halo and Gears of War, plus Assassin's Creed in release order (IV would be next, waiting for the remake), Persona, Final Fantasy, the few Nintendo games worth getting that are not ports, things I'm probably forgetting and I still haven't started with Yakuza and Dragon Quest (except 4 that I played on DS years ago). There is so much I find interesting, so I play one at a time that I think that I really like and prioritise. I have also played Fortnite and Sea of Thieves a lot and they are basically endless.
The best thing about Game Pass is being able to drop what I don't like. I liked the first Ni No Kuni and I beat it, but I quitted and erased the sequel. Now, I only buy games I'm a fan of, everything else is try on Game Pass if available. The library is huge as it is 😁. The only games I can't wait to see in my library are more Project Zero/Fatal Frame remasters and the rest of the Final Fantasy games: Pixel Remaster collection, VII remakes and XVI. Obviously, I'm excited about future Xbox games like Perfect Dark 3, Fable IV, Gears of War E-Day, Doom The Dark Ages...
@Banjo- I am glad I helped you with getting the last achievement in the Rare Replay version! I think you will like the Conker remake despite some of the negative stuff I did mention about it a few months ago. It’s minor really. I would even say Live and Reloaded is the better version in terms of its controls and how it makes attempts to be less repetitive. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it once you get onto it! I can’t get enough of that drunk red squirrel for some reason
I haven’t really played any other games alongside the Rare games besides that rhythm game I keep mentioning. I have occasionally opened up Fire Emblem Heroes on my phone, but it sort of has a badly written story and strategy games aren’t really something I play a lot. It isn’t entirely bad, but not one I would really recommend or say is a must play. I do want to go back to playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and spamming Wonderwing on CPUs as Banjo & Kazooie, but I don’t know when I can go back to playing it, since I don’t have my Switch right now.
Game Pass definitely can be helpful with deciding what games to buy, since you are allowed to give them a go at a low price. When the Perfect Dark reboot drops, I’ll probably use Game Pass for it and if I like it, I’ll buy it! Like you, I also only buy games if it’s ones that I like a lot. After I finished Bad Fur Day in October, I bought the remake a month later with no hesitation, since I liked the original a bunch and knew I would like the remake anyway despite what some people said about it, though I didn’t complete it until January this year. I remember the day I finished it!
What is the name of that mysterious rhythm game? My intention is to beat and try to get 100% in all the games included in Rare Replay and Conker Live & Reloaded, that I'm sure I'll love because I love the original one. I have read about it and it is the most advanced N64 game graphically and the Rare Replay version shows that quality in HD. I found the gameplay entertaining, I enjoyed the politically incorrect writing and I liked the linear story after being overwhelmed by Donkey Kong 64 because of the full completion I did on Wii U.
I wonder where games and art in general are going if the creativity and freedom of artists is increasingly restricted by the current society and auto censorship. It's at least worth thinking about, because you read and watch stuff from the 90s and noughties and it's incredibly shocking and at the same time refreshing and funny. I wonder if future generations will read about the current time as a somehow conservative period regarding freedom of expression and such.
@Banjo- it’s a game called Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! and I’ve been playing it for almost two years now. It’s a bit difficult since I play on one of the two harder modes and play it fast, but I have fun playing it in short sessions. It has great music and I am a huge fan of Japanese music, but it’s a localization of a Japanese game, so the version I play has less content. They are adding a song I really love into the Japanese version next month and I’m so sad I have to wait a year for it in the English version…
I do love art and I even do draw, so I absolutely love creativity and I hate seeing people being restricted with it nowadays, and I keep hearing stories about people working on animated shows (usually ones for kids and teens) being told to remove things they want to show, when what they want to include in the show isn’t even offensive at all. I think 90s-00s media is really fun and interesting, and it seemed to be super relaxed with what could be shown or talked about. I only think actually hateful and awful things should not be allowed, since they are made to upset people and spread harmful messages. Conker wasn’t any of those, and I do think the censoring they did in Live and Reloaded was a bit silly with the cussing and a tad bit restrictive of its creativity, since the original version was going to all be about being uncut.
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